Sibyle Veil is the newly elected Chair of the EBU Radio Committee and President/CEO of Radio France.

On the occasion of the 29th EBU Radio Assembly - and to mark her new role as Chair of the Committee - we asked her 3 key questions:

As President and CEO of Radio France, you already have an all-consuming role! Why are you now making the time to lead the EBU Radio Committee?

In a rapidly changing environment, public service media face many common challenges, especially in terms of securing our prominence in the new digital world and reaching all audiences, particularly younger generations. 

I am convinced that cooperation between our organizations through the EBU will enable us to be more effective and thus to uphold the values and place of public service radio. And that is why I want to get involved. And, as I like to say, audio is the new cool! 

I would like to recognize the tremendous work done by my predecessor Graham Ellis in recent years, and the collective dynamic he put in place.

The EBU is a diverse family, with very different radio markets from country to country. Where do you see the best potential for collaboration and cooperation through the Radio Committee?

I see at least four common issues where cooperation between our organizations is essential: 

The need to be visible and to secure a prominent place in new digital spaces, especially connected cars and virtual assistants, in connection with new audience habits.

The transformation of our media services with the development of digital offers, the evolution of our production methods and a modernized distribution strategy (including strengthening our own platforms and retaining control of our distribution).

The re-engagement and renewal of our audiences, by encouraging and facilitating exchanges on our editorial offers, so that we can propose relevant, quality programming, connected to their daily lives and to the changing world. In this context, the EBU Podcast Forum, created last year under the impetus of Radio France, seeks to encourage partnerships, adaptations and coproductions between our public service radio stations. 

Radio is the medium in which the public has the most confidence (see the EBU report on Trust in Media). Let's work together to maintain this trend, by providing valuable content and a strong and reliable public service information offer to our listeners, in order to address the problem of mass disinformation.

How will the radio sector evolve over the next five years and how should EBU Members best prepare for these changes?

We have several challenges ahead of us: the challenge of commonality, that of trust and of hyper-competition. 

At the heart of the transformation of our sector is the broadening of our medium from radio to audio. Today, our service is no longer defined by a device, but by our content, which can be listened to live, re-listened to over time and even digital-first, with our native podcasts; on radios, on smartphones or on smart speakers... 

This requires an evolution in our production methods, which must become hybrid, in our digital transformation, which must be ambitious, and in our capacity to initiate innovation. These are the changes in skills, tools and organization that are necessary to turn our business around. 

By accelerating our digital transformation, by being proactive, we will be stronger to face the battles that lie ahead, in particular around news, cultural sovereignty, proximity, and younger generations.

We must therefore combine editorial, production and technology to create and distribute content that attracts both our regular listeners and new audiences, especially those who are far removed from radio and audio, and who engage with media through digital platforms that are primarily video-based. It is therefore a question of introducing them to the pleasure of listening and of being in tune with their expectations, their interests and their ways of accessing media, which are constantly changing.